Learning Conversations

I like the idea. Agree it needs some work though, particularly in terms of quality control. The system would quickly lose credibility if the teachers who got highest levels of membership weren’t the best teachers and this is possible if some teachers are prolific but low quality and unreflective tweeters and bloggers. No one will be interested in the status unless there is quality control which ensures chartered teachers are good teachers.
Interestingly Teach First uses a credit system to “accredit” its Ambassadors (although it’s rather different and includes credits from non-teaching activities).

Hi Loic,

Yes, I agree there’s a whole quality control aspect I’ve not touched on yet. I think some of that should come using the community to provide input by somehow rating the quality of a contribution (need to watch for possible dangers here though), some will come through some sort of moderation activity by a central team, and some will come through line manager or peer review.

The points model will need to put limits on the amount of a particular activity that can be included. This would mean that you couldn’t achieve all your points just by tweeting or blogging etc.

I was wondering about including external/non-teaching activities too - as all of that contributes to a well-rounded teacher.

I’m no longer a teacher (though am now a lecturer, so very similar).

I agree with Loic that some form of quality control would be needed; also have to take into account that some people may be much better at tweeting (due to innate brevity etc!) - but mayn’t be as able when it comes to blogging. Equally, they may have great ideas that they can share via text, but would find the personal challenge / lack of appropriate hardware at home/ other reason limits their ability create podcasts etc. (Or perhaps they’re just more text centric / deaf / whatever)

I wonder if it might be better to have a “Social Media” aspect, that collates all SM postings in whatever form, (e.g. where would you include a really good mindmap?) - with the points partly automatic & some peer/other review aspect.

I’d also agree that you would have to include aspects of the actual teaching, rather than just thoughts & training, but clearly that’s now straying into other areas - and away from the purely CPD.

Thanks Emma,

The reason I set podcasts and other media (which could include a mindmap attached to a blog post) to have more points than a blog is purely because they generally require more thought and time to do.

I’m not aware of any Chartered Institute that monitors the quality of its members’ work - except where the member makes an obvious mistake that causes harm, which would have to end up with removal of the member’s status. However, when I say CPD, I also include (and promote) reflection on practice, which is what would give a good indication of the member’s actual teaching. eg. See Tom Barrett’s reflections on his teaching.

I think there’s much to be said for offering chartered status to those who’ve established themselves within the teaching profession - I’m quite taken with the Dreyfus model of professional competency, and this seems much more appropriate for professional recognition than the ill-fated MTL qualification; that said, I’d hope that teachers aspiring to something like this would continue their academic study beyond ITE too.
There are already schemes working in this area: Scotland and London both have chartered teacher schemes, and chartered mathematics and science teacher accreditations are available from the relevant institutes/associations. You might also like to explore this idea with the College of Teachers, who’ve been around since 1849 but have a relatively low profile.
I suspect some sort of peer review against agreed criteria would be appropriate for the award, although I could see some sort of points based system not dissimilar to that above, working for an ongoing CPD requirement to maintain status.
I believe organisations need 5000 members before they can petition for a Royal Charter.

Hi Miles,

I’d never come across the College of Teacher before. It looks like exactly the sort of organisation that should be looking at a framework like this.

Thanks for the other input too. I’ll check them and and do some more thinking.

I like the idea relating to the points and agree with Emma around more of an overall social media presence which would also need to include comments on blogs, forums too which also take time to think through and produce.

To take that even further, you could include ratings and peer review including the impact of content produced or a conversation - this content / conversation led to…whatever impact it was such as a change in practice.

There are still accessibility issues with web / social media software so these would need to be taken into account if using social media as part of the analysis.

It does offer more flexibility in terms of analysing development. I was talking with a colleague about this last week in relation to hours completed vs meaningful application of what has been learnt - is there evidence of examples of where completing this CPD has made a difference.

Great post, Mark.

I did quite a lot of work with the National College (for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services) when it first launched and know how challenging it is to engage professionals in this sort of activity - I think the very tangible nature of the points is a really good one because so often if feels like any contribution simply disappears into an online void. What frustrated many users was the requirement to post *for its own sake* - there didn’t seem any meaningful purpose for the effort.

I think the key challenge is establishing the real value of participation - what’s in for me and how will others benefit? If it feels like it has a point, then it becomes a worthwhile activity.

Thanks Carlton,

Initially, I would say that the “What’s in it for me?” factor would be provided by the points. Eventually, however, I would hope that the teachers would discover the intrinsic value of being part of a wider learning community…

Four years on, have you made any progress. I work within the Early Years sector and if you’ve read anything about developments in this area you will have noted that we are struggling with the issue of professional recognition. My husband is a Chartered Civil Engineer and this status affords those using his services certain assurances that he has the professional expertise, as well as the academic qualifications.
Personally I think it is essential that all teachers have a ‘quality assurance scheme’ that is independent of any government body, relying on the professional appraisal of experienced peers only. Perhaps children will then stand a chance of getting an education based on pedagogy, rather than an education designed to enhance league tables and pisa scores.